Re: If you think art isn't work

Yes but no-one's pirating the pianist's or violinist's works are they? They put the effort in, they're presumably being rewarded for it. You may have a point somewhere but you have to compare like for like.

I disagree with virtually everything..

..that Orlowski said. These views are about how you reign the internet back in and make it conform to old models. The beauty of the internet is that it very much takes the greed-driven power of money out of things. It frees us from archaic business models such as that of the old record industry, which was happy to sell us overpriced CDs to feed its mansions and drug habits, and now complains when it can't do that anymore. Well you priced it too high, and people bit back.

Before you label me as some kind of communist or anarchist, no. That's not what I'm saying. I've pirated my fair share of music but I now subscribe to Spotify and buy digital albums - those appropriately priced - that I like. No, this doesn't and won't generate anywhere near the levels of cash that were going around before but that's the point. The music industry was bloated and its downfall was inevitable. Now, the internet democratises music and I hear bands and artists who I never would have before. If they receive enough support, from real music fans instead of who the labels decide to throw the most money at and force down our throats, then those people will earn a living from their art.

The views of this panel are outdated and the internet will do everything in its power to prove it.

Re: Sometimes though

I'm not saying they always do, but in those fields I think they're pretty good indicators. I wouldn't say that two grade Cs at A-level (speaking as someone who got BBBC.. if you also include the virtually meaningless General Studies one) is a high enough bar for determining the people who are going to keep us safe from those who want to kill us in terrifically nasty ways.

Re: They will need different lesbian graphics for the uk tho'

Re: My only question for the idiots against gay marriage is ...

"I have deep affection for my dogs, they live with me and have done for longer than most marriages last, there is mutual affection and support. Why can this not be a marriage? It isn't a marriage because it doesn't fall under the definition of the word "marriage". I have two dogs - I'm not polygamous."

Because one of your dogs is not able to enter into a mutual consensual agreement where you will devote the rest of your life to them above all others, including your other dog. I genuinely hope but doubt that helps you.

I'm pretty sure..

..that these screenshots are from a variety of the Carmageddon games, and not all from the first one which in my opinion was easily and always the best. As another has already said, the first one had a goofy, care-free charm that valued senseless violence, stunt racing and exploration all equally. I really hope the new game being made captures this, although it may be that the first Carmageddon was so special because it really was the first -both in the series, and to do what it did so well in the new age of 3D gaming.

I think we were all trying to hit the 'Wow, what an amazing contribution to the world you made today when all those other options were available to you!' button - but just clicked 'Downvote' by mistake.

I think that Amazon..

..have the best chance of anyone in taking on the iPad. I would guess that most people you see on the tube with an iPad don't want one because Apple are a technology company, or because it's especially amazing tech, but because it's supposedly cool. Apple have somehow managed to convince everyone they're not a technology company at all, which is why Samsung, Dell etc. will never be able to go for that cool factor - the latter's tablets are seen as a nerdy attempt at chasing the zeitgest and thus doomed to fail from the outset. Amazon aren't (primarily) a technology company, and have a surprisingly cool, laid-back image for what's essentially a giant catalogue store, which I'd say is partly why Kindle has also done well.

I think Kindle Fire could well be the perfect balance between the Kindle and the iPad. Time will tell.

What..

Unlike most of the stories in the NOTW..

..the phone hacking saga does not exist for your entertainment, but is actually real news. This goes to the very top - the Prime Minister, and the police. If it's moved on for the sake of something more exciting to you, it will be swept under the carpet, and nothing will change.

Not that it's an easy process as it is - anecdotally, I know far too many people who say "oh isn't it terrible they hacked a dead girl's phone? Still, it was right of the NOTW to close" while holding today's copy of The Sun, without a trace of irony or self-awareness.

Allow me to sum it all up for you by now

Ohhhhh, so it's a joke..

..so do you tell black jokes about fried chicken? They're just jokes, right? Got any good Bernard Manning DVDs? You don't know whether anyone was offended by negative comments against the Chinese on here, and given how widely El Reg is read, it's more than possible.

But often the "it's just a joke" defence is wheeled out by people who can't or don't want to confront their own ignorant views.

I think it's pretty safe to say..

..that no-one was claiming it's a group of Yorkshiremen knocking out Harry Potter compilations DVD, Louis Ditton handbags and dodgy scientific research. I'm pretty sure whatever blanket assumptions were being made it's on the basis of the producers being Chinese as well as being in China - but please correct me if I'm wrong.

Er, I think they did..

That's not my understanding.

My understanding is that racialism is making a distinction between people based on race, whereas racism is doing so with negative connotations.

Either way, it doesn't really matter because the point remains that some people (not all - it is so convenient to generalise, after all) are still following the formula that because this research was Chinese, it must be of lower worth, because fake products come out of China, therefore everything that comes out of China is fake. Which is clearly wrong.

It's pretty racist to suggest..

..that because fake products come out of China, anything that comes out of China will be fake. Tarring everyone with the same negative brush because they belong to the same race as a minority who may share a trait. That's pretty much racism right there.

Hmm, well..

Capable of making her change course..? Ultimately, I think it was down to her. No-one forced her to become a crack addict, and it's not like she didn't have people around her who tried to get her clean (although I'm sure she had at least as much opposition in the other direction).

Because if they did and don't release it..

..then that would somewhat contradict their various statements about how they don't fear the authorities AND are just doing it for teh lulz.

I think either way, it's a real shame that they couldn't have been more responsible with the powers at their disposal, but maybe that's just default by the very nature of their existence. I just hope that if they do have something on NI, then they DO finally learn some responsibility with that, and it only helps bring those responsible for wrongdoing - whoever or wherever they may be - to justice.

Congratulations..

I was surprised by this preview..

..because everything else I've read says that the game in its current state is horrible - unresponsive and unimaginative. Even the E3 preview showed the player had touched the floor and completed another move after the character had begun to respond to the jump that was physically made.

I took myself off it two months ago..

..and I feel like I've got part of my life back. Not that I spent hours on it, but it felt like there was part of me that had to maintain an online presence. Now, most of me is back firmly in the real world and I'm far happier that way.

Hi

It actually makes me feel a little bit dirty writing out a full and easy rational response to why you refuse to understand any arguments in the real world and prefer just calling people names, so let me respond in kind by saying you're an idiot.

The key part for me is..

"..biodegradable products are not necessarily more environmentally friendly WHEN DISPOSED IN LANDFILLS."

Well then let's not dispose of them in landfills and stop this ridiculous idea that persisting with what we've got already is the best way? If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always got. And we haven't got it that good right now.